24 Data-Backed Reasons Why Great Customer Support is Your Most Important Marketing Strategy

The internet and social media has made it possible for consumers to leverage multiple channels to communicate, complain and interact with brands.

As a result, consumers now have unprecedented reach.

A poor experience can circle the globe and return to burn your bottom line in seconds.

As a result, customer support teams are now just as responsible for a company’s brand reputation as the marketing team, and just as important to acquisition and retention as the sales team.

It is the #1 reason why a customer will choose to do business with you, or jump ship and buy from one of your competitors.

Yet, the majority of businesses still choose not to make the customer experience a top priority.

As you will learn, this is a BIG mistake.

In this post, we’re going to look at 26 statistics that explain why great customer support is now the most important marketing and growth strategy for any business.

#1: Happy customers keep coming back

Data:52% of consumers have made more purchases from a company after having a good customer service experience (Source: Zendesk)
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Takeaway: We know good support is the key to increasing customer retention, but let’s take a closer look at what that means for your bottom line.

Adobe Group reports that for every 1% of shoppers that return for a subsequent visit, overall revenue will increase around 10%. That means, if you can get 10% of your customers to come back and buy again, you will double revenue.

#2: Happy customers will tell their friends

Data:One happy customer will tell nine other people about their experience.
(Source: American Express)
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Takeaway: If you want more word-of-mouth referrals and positive online reviews, make sure your customers are happy.

#3: Very few angry customers will actually complain to your company

Data:For every customer who complains, there are 26 others who don’t say a word.
(Source: Lee Resources International)
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Takeaway: Customer complaints are just the tip of the iceberg. The majority of your unhappy customers will leave without saying a word.

Instead of dreading customer complaints, think of them as valuable insights. Often, the same thing that is causing one customer to complain is the same thing that is causing many others to leave.

Develop an internal process and invest in a helpdesk ticketing system needed to track complaints, and make sure they are fixed quickly.

#4: But, an unhappy customer will complain to their friends

Data:95% of customers share bad experiences, and half of those people will tell 10+ others.
(Source: Zendesk)
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Takeaway: News of a bad customer experience will travel twice as fast as the praise for a good experience. Take time to remedy the situation as fast as possible. It will not only help you keep that customer, it will also prevent a lot of negative word of mouth exposure for your business.

#5: A poor review will turn potential buyers away before they ever land a “foot” in the door

Data:Eighty-six percent (86%) of consumers will not purchase from a business that has negative online reviews. (Source: Dimensional Research)
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Takeaway: Most consumers will conduct some level of online research before they ever interact with your business. In fact, 60% of the sales cycle is overbefore a buyer talks to your salesperson.

Make sure online user-generated content is attracting customers, and not turning them away. Considering that 67% of consumers are influenced by online reviews, it’s a good idea to make customer happiness a priority.

#6: It’s really hard to make up for a bad customer experience

Data:It takes 12 good experiences for a business to make up for a poor one. (Source: Dimensional Research)
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Takeaway: We all mistakes. But always remember, your customers are very unforgiving. Second chances are rare, and when you do get one, the road back to “good-standing” is a long one.

#7: If you have a reputation for great service, you can charge more

Data:86% of consumers are willing to pay up to 25% more for a better customer experience.
(Source:RightNow)
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Takeaway: Great customer support is rare. As a result, your customers will happily pay a premium of more than 5% for it.

#8: But, if the service sucks, your customers will leave

Data:82% of consumers have stopped doing business with a company because of bad customer service. (Source:NewVoice)
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Takeaway: Your customers have a lot of options when deciding who they do business with. If your service isn’t up to par, the customer will take their money elsewhere.

#9: And, they won’t come back for a long time (if ever)

Data:39% of customers avoid vendors for 2+ years after a bad experience, while 58% will never use the company again. (Source:NewVoice)
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Takeaway: All it takes is one negative experience to lose a customer for life. Treat every customer interaction as if it were your last, because it could be.

#10: Who won’t come back? Often, your most valuable customers

Data:79% of high-income people, 51% of B2B clients, and 54% of Gen Xers will avoid your company for two years or more following one bad customer experience.
(Source: Zendesk)
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Takeaway: High-income clients have larger budgets, more options and higher expectations. If poor service is an issue, these folks are often the first to leave.

#11: Acquiring a new customer is expensive

Data:It is 6-7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a current one.
(Source: White House Office of Consumer Affairs)
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#19: When customers need help, they expect it fast

Takeaway: We’re living in an on-demand world. People are used to getting what they want, when they want it. Customer support is no different.

#20: If they don’t get it, there’s a really good chance you’ll lose them

Data:45% of US consumers will abandon an online transaction if their questions or concerns are not addressed quickly.
(Source:Forrester)
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Takeaway: Whether it’s making information available through a self-service portal, knowledge base or live chat service, make sure customers are able to quickly, and easily, access all the information they need to complete the conversion.

#23: The Pareto principle still applies

Keeping your current customers happy should be a top business goal in 2016.

#24: A lot of your customers prefer to talk to you online

Data:38% of customers prefer to talk to customer service online or via email about simple issues. (Source:American Express)

In fact. 1/3 of consumers say they would “rather clean a toilet” than speak with customer service in personClick-to-tweet

Takeaway: More consumers are leveraging online channels for customer support. Make sure resources are available online, and make it easy to submit a support request if the desired information is not immediately available.

Are you ready to make customer support a priority in 2016?

The statistics shown above should paint a pretty compelling picture about the importance of customer service when it comes to customer acquisition, retention and long term profitability.

83% of consumers need some type of assistance during their online journey,

That means every online business has a lot of opportunities to deliver great customer service and gain a competitive advantage in 2016.

Often, the first step is investing in the right tools, training and processes to integrate a strong customer service offering across each level of your organization.